In 1992, performer Ron Vawter recreated Smith's performance "What's Underground about Marshmallows" in Roy Cohn/Jack Smith which he presented in a live performance and which was later released as a film directed by Jill Godmilow and produced by Jonathan Demme. Arcade attempted to preserve the apartment as Smith had transformed it - an elaborate stage set for his never to be filmed epic Sinbad In a Rented World - as a museum dedicated to Jack Smith and his work. In 1989, Penny Arcade, New York performance artist and former Warhol superstar tried to salvage Smith's work from his apartment after his long bout with AIDS and subsequent death, as per Smith's request. In 1978 Sylvère Lotringer conducted a 13-page interview with Smith (with photos) in Columbia University's philosophy department publication of Semiotext(e) called Schizo-Culture: The Event, The Book. In 1962, he released The Beautiful Book, a collection of pictures of New York artists, that was re-published in facsimile by Granary Books in 2001.Īfter his last film, No President (1967), Smith created performance and experimental theatre work until his death on Septemfrom AIDS-related pneumonia. He also worked as a photographer and founded the Hyperbole Photographic Studio in New York. He played the lead in Andy Warhol's unfinished film Batman Dracula, Ken Jacobs's Blonde Cobra, and appeared in several theater productions by Robert Wilson. The rest of his productions consists mainly of short movies, many never screened in a cinema, but featured in performances and constantly re-edited to fit the stage needs (including Normal Love).Īpart from appearing in his own work, Smith worked as an actor.
Smith's next movie Normal Love was the only work in Smith's oeuvre with an almost conventional length (120 mins.), and featured multiple underground stars, including Mario Montez, Diane di Prima, Tiny Tim, Francis Francine, Beverley Grant, John Vaccaro, and others. Despite not being viewable, the movie gained some notoriety when footage was screened during Congressional hearings and right-wing politician Strom Thurmond mentioned it in anti-porn speeches. Copies of the movie were confiscated at the premiere and it was subsequently banned (technically, it still is to this day).
However, authorities considered some scenes to be pornographic. The film is a satire of Hollywood B movies and tribute to actress Maria Montez, who starred in many such productions. The most famous (and arguably the most notorious) of Smith's productions is Flaming Creatures (1963). Smith was raised in Texas where he made his first film, Buzzards over Baghdad, in 1952.